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Feb 11, 2013

Now that the election is on the horizon, Julia Gillard
is actively pursuing wedge issues that may help Labor to reduce the rout.One area she has decided to go for is
industrial relations, in which she has made it clear she intends to exploit in
a big way.

Unfortunately for employers, she has done the math and
understands that they are well and truly outnumbered by employees and with the
way democracy works in Australia, she feels this gives her carte blanch to make
rules that give employees ‘a better deal’ regardless of the cost.The first cab off the rank is making
flexible rosters for new parents compulsory:

THE Gillard government will legislate soon to make it harder for
employers to refuse to allow new parents the right to work part time. …

… “Modern families
can find it very difficult to balance the demands of work and the demands of
caring for kids and sometimes the demands of caring for older relatives too,”
she said.“We want to make sure
our workplace relations system is helping take some of the burden off modern
families.

“One of the
ways we will do that is by extending the right to request flexible and
part-time work to mums who are returning from maternity leave, and indeed to
dads who are returning from caring for children too.”

Parents
making the transition back to work would be able to request flexible and
part-time work. “Their employer will have to respond to that request,” Ms
Gillard said.“We already have, as
part of our 10 national employment standards, a right to request. This is an
extension to that right.”

There is
already no real encumbrance to employees requesting changes to rosters and
other aspects of their employment as things stand.Most employers are usually willing to consider such requests
if they are reasonable, workable, and not likely to disrupt production.

To make
changes which introduce compulsion into the equation is counterproductive, in
that it will make employment of people of childbearing age a more expensive
proposition.The unintended
consequence to this is of course, that it will be great for older workers.

Workplaces
are subject to a certain amount of give and take, and should be left alone.